"We had a car that pretty much was stagnant for six or eight years," said Dixon. "For me it's a change of times, it's a new car, it requires different things. We've had some good results, but not great results.
"We definitely are looking to improve that. I think here [Indianapolis] would be a great time to do it. Qualifying result is definitely not what we wanted but the race has been won from as far back as row six or seven in the past I think.
"Dan [Wheldon] started in 16th in 2005 when he won. There's no doubt it's going to be tough though and I don't really know why we missed the boat by so much to be honest."
It's easy to understand why Dixon and his team must be scratching their collective heads especially after topping the charts after Thursday's practice in the lead up to qualifying.
"On those days it's whoever gets the best tow and when you're out in group packs working on race set up you can come from behind and top the pack pretty quickly," said Dixon.
In a long race things can get hot - not only the engines, but also the drivers. The forecast for the weekend's race is around the 37C to 38C mark and that's outside. Driving for that many hours and being shoehorned into a flying rocket will be a trifle uncomfortable.
"We don't have cool suits because you can only use them in touring cars. It's just because the cooling box is so big and you'd never fit it into one of our cars. When you're out racing it's not too bad but when you pit it gets pretty hot in there.
"I'm not sure how much weight we lose but it's a fair amount," said Dixon.
It's been said on many occasions that practice is practice, qualifying is important but it's the race on the day that determines who the victor will be. There are a vast number of variables that come into play over such a long race, and an important one is the car set up.
There's a lot of difference between the way a car is configured for qualifying and race day.
Qualifying is a crazy dash whereas race day is about strategy and making it to the finish.
"The hardest thing is that you've got to go into the race with a lot less downforce on the car to even keep up. That's okay for the first 10 or 15 laps but to get through a full spin of 30 laps is where it takes its toll [grip levels drop off].
"We've got to move up as quickly as possible early on once the race starts. There are a few one-offs [new teams or ones that don't do the entire series] in front of us that may have issues in the pits and with their strategy. If everything goes well we should be at the pointy end and running decently inside the top six or eight after a while," said Dixon.
In the previous four races this season there has been a fair amount of passing and it should be no different at Indianapolis. It appears it's possible to come from a long way back and with these new cars being pretty much the same with limited aero adjustment, you won't see the cars spreading out so much as in the past.
This could bode well for Dixon and don't forget he has local company in this year's race. For the first time since 1911 there will be two Kiwis in the mix. Wade Cunningham, who knows a thing or two about the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, having won there three times in the Firestone Indy Lights Freedom 100 support race, joins Dixon on the grid.
"I didn't know that until recently and it's pretty cool. Unfortunately Wade had a bit of a rough time as well [qualified 26th]. It would have been good if both Kiwis had qualified a bit better. He's been here many a time and should go well," said Dixon.
Scott Dixon
* Two-time IZOD IndyCar Series champion, 2003 and 2008
* Indianapolis 500 Winner in 2008 Won the Rolex 24 At Daytona in 2006.
* Indy Lights champion 2000 11th year with Target Chip Ganassi Racing - the longest tenure for a driver in team history.
* Second on the Ganassi Racing all-time win list with 28 victories
* 186 starts between the CART and IZOD IndyCar Series with 27 wins, 17 poles, 90 top-five and 132 top-10 finishes.
Standings
* Will Power - 180
* Helio Castroneves - 135
* James Hinchcliffe - 123
* Ryan Hunter-Reay - 121
* Simon Pagenaud - 118
* Scott Dixon - 109
* JR Hildebrand - 83.
